In the morning news

Jim Dau, a spokesman for AARP, said monitoring the changeover will be a priority for his group this year. “Many of our members are more dependent on their televisions to keep them connected to their communities,” said Dau. “Americans age 50 and above watch the greatest amount of television, almost 5 1/2 hours a day.”

“People are not saying take this job and shove it,” said Bob Gallo, Illinois director of AARP. “They want to keep working. They like contributing. “People can work longer because of the longer life span they now expect.”

President Bush, in a marked shift from his usual upbeat economic assessments, conceded here on Monday that the nation faces “economic challenges” due to rising oil prices, the home mortgage crisis and a weakening job market.

Sanders said the $2.6 billion Congress passed last month for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program known as LIHEAP, which he said is $400 million more than last year but 23 percent less than what Congress provided two years ago, is not enough, given escalating fuel costs and cold weather. He plans to push for an extra $800 million and the release of millions of dollars in emergency LIHEAP funding.